Coffee & Cotton: downtown’s new caffeine mecca is open for business

Because we all need a caffeine hotspot that doubles as an office, or just a great escape, there’s a new digs in town where the term coffee bar is taken literally.

Coffee & Cotton opened its doors inside Mill No. 5 last month, and this downtown café offers the complete package: a gorgeous atmosphere, friendly baristas and high-quality coffee that can also be purchased to go in refillable growlers or reusable glass bottles.

Whether the pour is hot, cold brewed, a high-octane espresso shot, fancy latte or straight-up black — the coffee you sip, thanks to café director Michele Hazut, is sourced from a single origin micro-plantation.

Single source micro-whattha, you ask? Let’s break it down: These are coffee beans that come directly from a small farm at higher than market prices on the basis that quality should be properly compensated. Most beans consumers buy in the store are purchased through middlemen who mix all beans together (the good and the bad) and then sell them at bulk process, which can result in coffee that’s bland or just plain, meh.

Direct trade coffee, in contrast, tastes different. Take Coffee & Cotton’s Jardin roast. Notes of floral, honey and caramel are all flavors actually coming from the beans, not artificial additives.

The flavor experience in Lowell’s newest caffeine mecca is also enhanced by a warm and inviting space with free Wi-Fi, knowledgeable and unpretentious servers and a sea of Edison bulbs dangling from the high ceilings.

In addition to the direct trade coffee, the growing menu of light bites to nosh on is made with ingredients sourced from local farms.

What to order: We recommend the ass-kicking espresso brewed in a La Marzocco (the Lamborghini of espresso machines) or the hibiscus ginger lime kombucha tea.

Where to find it: Coffee & Cotton is located at Mill No. 5, 250 Jackson St. on the 4th floor. Follow them on Facebook here